A Tale of Three Players

"You never run bad," the struggling pro on tilt said to me. Well, it doesn't appear that way to me. It seems like I have had my share of beats over the course of my poker career. Running bad, like many things in life, is relative to what appears to be normal in one's own mind. A player with an expectation of $60 per hour is running very bad when he's even over the course of 100 hours. Other poorer players need to run well in order to break even over that time period. We poker players all have streaks of luck, both good and bad. How we handle the good, the bad, and the ugly is often what separates those who flourish in the poker world from those who struggle to get by. Those who handle the good and the bad with a high degree of emotional control and mental strength give off the appearance of being very lucky, since they don't have the "go offs" (when players feel brutalized by luck) that those without those strengths experience. However, underneath the surface there are reasons for the dichotomy in how a player handles the ups and downs and the emotions we all experience over the course of play. Let me show you examples of different players over the course of a year's play (2,000 hours) at $30-$60 hold'em and analyze their results.

Talented Timmy is one heck of a player. He is highly intelligent, and has great feel and play knowledge. Plus, when focused, he utilizes his talent well at the table. His "A" game expectation is $70 per hour, a big number for the $30-$60 game he is playing. However, Timmy tends to get bored a lot while playing, has a beer or four every now and then, gets in lots of conversations at the table, and flirts with every pretty girl who walks by. When he plays his "B" (bored) game, his "autopilot" game is still somewhat effective due to his great play knowledge. However, due to his lack of focus, his hourly expectation falls to $30 per hour. Out of both stubbornness and competitiveness, he doesn't like to get up a loser, and often plays long sessions when stuck. When he plays long sessions, his play deteriorates dramatically. Unbeknownst to him, he loses his mental skills and his confidence in his decisions, and plays a poor game. It is his "F" game, but it is not without some skills. His overall hourly expectation in that mode falls to -$15 per hour. To compound this negative, he puts in a large percentage of his hours when he is chasing his money, since he likes to quit early and take his winning sessions home. Over the course of the year, Timmy spent 600 hours playing his "A" game, 600 hours playing his "B" game, and 800 hours playing his "F" game. Talented Timmy, the most knowledgeable and talented player in the group, won $48,000 for the year.

Tiltoid Tommy has good play knowledge. His best friend is a top-quality pro, and he can recite poker theory with the best of them. However, Tommy has an emotional control problem. He starts out every session playing his "A" game, but after his first "bad beat" he immediately goes into a self-destruct mode and starts firing at every pot. His opponents know this, and shoot at him in an effort to "set him off." He never disappoints them. His "A" game is pretty good, and he earns $40 per hour when he plays it. His "on tilt" game is horrible and frequent, and he loses $80 per hour blasting away. He's on tilt 90 percent of the time he plays, in denial that he is playing badly. Tommy lost $136,000 for the year. He has no understanding of why he cannot beat the game, and thinks he is the unluckiest player alive.

Consistent Carl is not the most brilliant of guys. There are lots of players in his $30-$60 hold'em game with better poker knowledge and better mental skills. However, Carl is nobody's fool. He has played the game for several years, and has good feel and great mental strength and discipline. His "A" game expectation is $50 per hour. But he comes to play every day, doesn't get off his game when things are not going his way, and doesn't play when his resources of patience and concentration have deteriorated. He played his "A" game over the course of his 2,000 hours and won $100,000 for the year.

I see these types of players every day that I play. All of these players have good play knowledge. What makes the huge difference in their results is their ability to consistently apply that knowledge at the table. Notice how the player with the least talent makes the most money over time through consistency of effort and force of will. In very high-limit games when all the players at the table have good play knowledge, oftentimes the only major edge any player has over another is the ability to maintain his "A" game over the course of the trials and tribulations of the mind that the very nature of high-limit poker puts them through. In lower- and medium-limit games, maintaining patience and discipline, and consistently playing your best by incorporating basic play knowledge should make you an overall winner.

If you are serious about winning money at poker and your time has value to you, make the effort to play your best at all times. And if you are not playing your best, for one reason or another, you should leave and come back another day when you can maintain a clear and focused mind on the game. It can sometimes be correct to play when you are not at your best if there is a compensating factor present to make up for it, such as a very lively game. However, most players seem to overvalue those situations and be in denial about how much their own level of play can deteriorate.

So, when you go to play – go to play! And maintain that mindset. Remember that consistency in performing your best is an important poker virtue. It prevents one from taking that long "walk of shame" to the casino cash machine.

Editor's note: Roy Cooke played winning professional poker for 16 years. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas – please see his ad below.